Kimberly wears a navy blue dress that goes above the knee, and is attached with a black short sleeved crop jacket.
Spring 2008
- A Word From The Editor. Dawson Ko.
- Skip Into Spring. Gemma Campagna.
- Street Styles. Emma Fraser.
- Flower Power. Ly Huynh.
- Sunglasses Mean One Thing, Sunshine! Tracy Tam.
- Fashionable Eye Gallery.
- 10 Minutes With Michael Lo Sordo. Tina Nguyen.
- "Bring On Spring" Say The Experts. Joy Tsai.
- Leave The Lot - You'll Find A Shop. Nastasia Campenella.
- Fashion On Another Sensory Level. Dawson Ko.
- Smashing Ming Vases! (... And Other Wayward Hobbies Of Catfox! Designer, Julian Ngui.) Wenee Yap.
- STOP! This Is How Not To Dress Like A Man. Tomasz Forfa.
- End Credits.
Leave The Lot - You'll Find A Shop
Rejuvenated from her 6 week 4 glorious location trip, Nastasia Campenella contrasts the different cultures and fashion styles from each destination.
The night before I left for my first overseas trip, I stood confused. Piles of singlet tops, hundreds of shorts, skirts and swimmers strewn across my bed, it seemed like my empty suitcase would never be ready for the early morning flight. My apprehension with packing was based on two things: bad exchange rates and a lack of awareness. Nevertheless, one-by-one, a stack of tea shirts from stores like Cotton on and Target went in, a skirt, two pairs of jeans, some dresses and tops to hit the clubs with. Oh, and girls, don't hate me, but I could only fit in six pairs of shoes.
With the Euro being almost double the Australian dollar, I really didn't think I'd buy much, especially now that Australia gets most labels and I still wasn't sure whether we dressed like our European counter parts.
Before I left, my opinion was: "you never know what you'll need, so take it all!" Now I'm back, I'm here to tell you to leave the lot.
A pair of brown leather pointed toe flats purchased from Malasia.
Where?
Malaysia. The cleanest and most humid spot I've ever been too. They might have some of the best designer shopping, but apart from the few women who love to flash their authentic Prada handbags, the people tend to dress for comfort. Not many girls wear make-up because the heat makes even the smallest amount of moisturiser run and no one seems to care what you wear when you have dinner at restaurants. Over all, a refreshing place to visit in your tee shirts and diva jewellery. This place taught me that you don't need to spend the bucks to fit in.
Sunglasses by Gucci aquired from France.
Where?
Paris. By day, the city of romance bustled with women in heals and hair glossier than the top of an iced pastry. By night, jeans are allowed in bars and although the pretentious nature of the people is as potent as the cigarettes they smoke, you can't help but fall in love with what the city has to offer. It wasn't a crime to get around in joggers and on one very cold summer day, men sported stylish scarf's and cashmere jackets.
A red handbag from Greece.
Where?
The Greek Islands. The ultimate hot-spot for a relaxing holiday, summer here means sexy little bikinis - that is, if you don't wish to bake your body like the locals. If you don't spot women topless, you'll find them in gee-strings, roasting themselves in olive oil like a lamb shank at Uncle Nick's restaurant. For the boys, definitely forget the Speedo - board shorts are the way to go. Footwear is mainly flats whether it be shopping along the cobble streets or heading to one of the nightclubs, bars and up-market eateries.
A floral design necklace purchased and made in Italy.
Where?
Italy. From Florence in the North to Sicily in the South, this is a seriously hot country. I'm not just referring to the cheeky men, the finger-licking food or the party-like atmosphere on the rocky beaches, but the fashion. Forget Paris or London. With all the huge names, the truck loads of cash and over-the-top nature of this bunch: Italy really is the fashion capital. Although I'm not sure you see too many clothes at all during the warmer months. Take a look around the beaches and you'll feel like you're back in Greece: only this time in all shapes and sizes. It's clear Italian's have absolutely no shame and that their totally comfortable in their own skin (literally), and this was nicely illustrated by the 70-year-old grandmothers in bikinis, mothers lounging around topless and their spoilt five-year-old kid screaming for a drink next to them.
However, it does seem that we've taught the Euros a thing or two. Once upon a time, Australians were looked down upon for sporting shorts and thongs. Today, the wheel has turned and European's wear them everywhere - from the beach to the bar, the thong has become part of a classic look.
The nightlife is nuts. Certainly, it was a surprise to find 12-year-olds smoking and drinking in clubs, but even more so to find that I was the only one wearing pointy heels and a dress. While I was finding it hard to walk, 20-somethings pranced and danced around beside me in cute shorts, tight tops, jeans and flats.
Despite the exchange rate I did spend a bit of cash. While clothes were very expensive, I did splurge on handbags, shoes, sun-glasses and jewellery. Of course, I could have brought the same things in Sydney, but when you're on holidays you're inevitably going to want that beautiful leather handbag, those hand-made red slip-ons or those Gucci sunnies. It is just foolish to go anywhere with a full suitcase thinking you're not going to bring anything back.
Nastasia Campanella.
Nina pulls on her brown heeled open toe shoes, wearing beige short shorts and a white print sleeveless top.
Fashion On Another Sensory Level
Blind editor and fashion writer Dawson Ko will describe how fashion could be enjoyed on another sensory level.
For the past 21 months we've been writing "fashion articles", and all the while I have written from the point of view of a sighted person. I have to admit, I think I've done pretty well in pretending that I'm sighted. Yeah? But who am I kidding? I'm blind and everything I had written about was either described to me, or imagined through my mind's eye. So how do I see fashion? What do I consider hot or not when purely relying upon my remaining senses? Well, I'm going to tell you right now and I am hoping after you read this article, you might be able to enjoy fashion in a whole new light, and experience things on another sensory level.
To start at the basics, I have to ask, why do we spend time on our appearance and on our clothing? I imagine it's because we want to enhance our looks by external means, through clothing, jewellery, make-up etc. And what does this do to us? I guess it makes us feel good about ourselves and it gives us confidence? Right? So we can walk down the street with our head held high, and I guess to a lesser extent...to attract attention.
What catches a blind person's attention, when the visuals of fashion can't do the trick? Well, I'd say sound is the best tell tale signal of approaching style. I can't speak on behalf of all blind people but the clacking sound of heels on hard surfaced floors definitely gets my head turning to get a better listen. Yeah, sad but true! As soon as I hear those heels hitting the floor a myriad of pleasant images from the past flutter through my mind. Yes, the owner of the heels might be old enough to be my mother, but it's not as if I'll ever find out the truth or that I'll do anything about it? The sound comes and goes, but I'm left happier with her passing.
Kim is wearing a navy blue dress that goes above the knee and is attached with a black short sleeved crop jacket, and on her feet is a pair of gold heels from 'Aldo'.
What other sounds creates similar reactions within me? Well I've found the multitudinous sounds of jewellery always have me on the alert. Be that the clanking together of numerous bangles, the tinkle of a delicate bracelet, or the clinking of dangle earrings when someone turns their head. All of these sounds tell me I'm in the presence of female company, and what happens from there is my own business.
I've just described hearing "fashion", but how can you apply this to an everyday sighted existence? I'm pretty sure sighted people use these sound indicators as well. For example, you'll be minding your own business at a cafe, reading a magazine, then on the wooden floor boards you hear the tell tale sound of heels. You glance up to see what is the source of that noise, and BAM, your lock eyes on a gorgeous girl. Or you might be in a university tutorial with 40 other students, and always in the same place a few rows behind you is the clinking of bracelets, after a while you are curious to know what items are making those noises? You look around and you make eye contact with a cheery smiling girl!!! You have to agree, you have been in similar situations as this, either being the guy, or the girl who was the creator of the noise? In this simple example, I've described how fashion and the sounds it makes sets you aside, makes you more noticeable, and captured someone's attention. So if this is your regular technique, you have to agree it works like a charm!
From this initial lesson, I hope you are more aware of the attributes of fashion accessories from a non-sighted point of view, and please look forward to part 2 next season, where I'll explore further, and examine the sense of touch and fashion. Thus if you want to maximize your affect on others and your head turning ability, maybe keep in mind the sounds you make.
Dawson Ko.
